


It Was Worth the Sting

by abigailmaedy



Series: Before the Badge- A B99 Prequel [4]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: B99 prequel, Before the badge, F/M, Jake and Gina pre-B99, Minor Character Death, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-14 00:58:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7992730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abigailmaedy/pseuds/abigailmaedy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Gina stared straight ahead and Jake watched her. Then, with the apprehension of a man about to grab a rattlesnake, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple, his nose and eyes scrunching. When he pulled away, he was smiling and she was utterly confused.<i></i></i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Jake and Gina explore some unresolved feelings from their youth and lean on each other while they try to cope with Nana's death and grapple with what their lives will be turning into as Jake nears graduation from the police academy. Rated M for conversations of drug use and noncon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gina might have bad taste in men, but she's got good taste in friends

       Gina was sprinting, the concrete thudding mercilessly against her feet, slapping her soles and sending shockwaves up her ankles. “Gina!” A voice sounded behind her. “Baby, get back here!” 

_        Baby  _ was going to do no such thing. She continued to run from the voice and realized after about three blocks that when she stopped, she was going to throw up. Her lungs were on fire and her limbs carried her robotically towards safety. Nana only lived eight blocks from Kaleb, Gina’s horrible mistake of an ex-boyfriend, and as she ran she neglected to even consider what consequences she’d be facing when she arrived. 

       She was wheezing by the time she reached the building’s entrance. Gina couldn’t feel her feet and her legs vibrated as she stepped into the lobby elevator, pacing and still unaware of the dramatic difference between the inside of the complex and the chill of late New York outside. She was practically bouncing off the walls when the doors opened onto the right floor and she sprinted down the hall, fumbling for the spare key in her pocket and finally pushing her way inside. 

_        That  _ was when she remembered. The place was dark and untouched, and the air was just a bit stuffier than Nana had ever liked it.  _ Oh yeah, fuck.  _ Gina fumbled for a light and squinted at the brightness, shielding her eyes. Her heart was still racing and her stomach finally caught up to her. She ran to the bathroom, fumbled as she went, and threw up in the toilet. She kept her face pressed against the porcelain seat until a sense of dread washed over her and her whole world dimmed. She thought about collapsing to the floor and instead climbed to her feet, crossing the living room and sitting on the couch by which the phone rested, breathing a sigh of relief when she found it was still connected. She dialled the first person to come to mind. 

       “Hello?” Jake’s voice was groggy and Gina choked on her words. “Hello?” He said again. 

       “Jake, I’m at Nana’s.” She finally managed, her voice thicker than she was expecting it to be. Her eyes were burning and her chin wrinkled as her lips pressed hard together.  _ Don’t cry over men. Don’t cry over men.  _

       “Gina?”

       “Get over here, now.” Her voice cracked and she cursed the hideous sob that rippled out of her. 

       “Fuck. Okay. I’m coming.” And he hung up. 

__________________________________

       She was sitting on the kitchen floor with an icepack to her face when he arrived. He called for her and she cleared her throat, staring down to avoid his wide eyes as he approached her. “Did someone hit you?” 

       Gina snorted. “I wish. Then I could make you kick ass for me.”

       “What are you doing here? What happened to you?” Jake took another step forward and Gina pulled the ice pack from her face, looking around. 

       “I forgot."

       “What do you mean you forgot? That Nana  _ died? _ ” Jake sat down across from her on the floor and she finally looked up at him. His chest tightened. He had  _ never  _ seen Gina cry. Ever. But there she was, all puffy-faced and pink. Her pupils were large black circles encompassing almost her entire iris and Jake’s brows furrowed. “Are you high?” 

       Gina’s heart pounded in her chest and her ears rang, the kitchen lights too bright for her eyes. Her knee had been bouncing for some time and Jake eyed it suspiciously. Gina was not a knee-bouncer. “I fucked up, okay? I can’t be perfect  _ every day. _ ” 

       “What?” Jake’s voice bounced up an octave and Gina’s stomach flipped.  _ Ugh. Guilt.  _  “What are you on?” Jake grabbed her wrist, checking her pulse and then feeling her forehead. She slapped him away. 

       “I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ve been clean since that stupid snitch program, I swear.” She pressed the ice pack against her chest with a hiss and closed her eyes. “Kaleb-” She spat his name out. “Made me shoot up.”        

       When Gina was sixteen, she hit a wall. Or really, she hit a wall, slid down it, and fell into a deep well of depression and poor decision making. It was easy to stay there, since her attitude didn’t change much and it wasn’t until Nana had caught her trying to smoke a cigarette that the older woman sat Gina down and asked her what else was going on. It was then that Gina had disclosed about the kiss she and Jake had shared at ten years old, and how it hadn’t preceded a kiss with Mikey because Darlene had brought home a man three days later that made Gina never want to kiss anyone again. 

       From there, Gina had grown bitter and by high school, she knew the ins and outs of almost every non-addictive drug on the market. And then, at fifteen, a friend had introduced her to cocaine, which Gina came to enjoy at parties and on boring weekends. As she dumped all of these secrets on her, for lack of a better term, adoptive grandmother, she didn’t cry. She even laughed, trying to play it off as nothing to the woman beside her whose face was straight. When Gina was finally done talking, Nana only hugged her, holding her close. She told Gina her secrets were safe if she agreed to join the police’s at-risk youth program and see a therapist. She also told Gina to find a hobby she liked. Gina found dance. 

       If you asked her, it was the dance that had saved her. She eventually told Jake that she had been doing coke and that she was getting help, but that was all she had said. Since then, Jake had been watching her, worrying over her. He helped her look for a new job every time she lost one, pushed her to go to college with him after high school, and kept her busy when he knew she was feeling low. Clearly, he had missed a cue this time. “What do you mean he  _ made  _ you?” Jake knew that when Gina was high, or coming down, she got paranoid about overheating because her nerves felt shot. He watched her move the ice pack to her lap and caught a glimpse of her heavily bruised wrist, the mold of a handprint evident in the purple. Jake stared at it. “You’re  _ sure _ you don’t want me to kick some ass?”

       “I’m sure.” Gina sighed dramatically, wiping a few stray hairs from her face. “Let’s just be done with that loser. Plus I might feel guilty or something if I got you kicked out of the police academy for beating up my boyfriend.” 

       Jake’s stomach clenched and he sighed. “So, how did all of this...?” He made a sweeping motion and she sighed. 

       “Okay look, don’t be weird.” Gina rolled her eyes and leaned her head back. “I had an abortion.”        

       “Like.” Jake made a belly motion. “Like a people-egg abortion?” 

       She nodded. “Yeah.” Her lip started to wobble again and Jake’s chest tightened.  _ Gina doesn’t cry.  _

       “I… Did he make you do that, too?”  _ This is out of my depths! This is way beyond my knowledge! _

       Gina shot him a glare. “No, I made myself. He knocked me up but we weren’t even really together. At first I thought I might keep it.” Gina shrugged. “Bedazzle some onesies. But then,” She stared down at her wrists. “He started getting mean and I didn’t want anything to do with any of it.”

       “When did you do it?” Jake asked, unsure if he was avoiding the word ‘abortion’ for his benefit or hers. 

       “Two weeks ago.” She handed the ice pack to Jake and sighed. He raised a brow and she turned around, pointing at her back and resting her forehead against the fridge. Jake pulled up the back of her shirt and pressed the cold pack to it. “I tried to break things off with him the other day but it’s been hard. He kinda freaks me out, like he’s gonna go wacko and kill me.” Gina’s shoulders slumped as she adjusted to the cold between them. Jake ignored the hand that Gina swept across her hidden face.        

       “You could tell the cops.” Jake said, readjusting the ice pack. 

       “No offense to your whole superhero thing, Jake, but fuck the cops.”       

       “Okay, well then what? Are you really going to stay away from him?” Jake flipped the ice pack over and Gina hissed, her back arching. 

       “Yeah.” She managed through gritted teeth. “I swear. I never really liked him anyway, he wasn’t good enough for me.” 

       “Who is?” Jake responded. He didn’t feel it was the time to mention that he had been wondering if it was him. 

       Gina didn’t answer. 

________________________________________

       Gina realized she  wasn’t coming down as hard as she’d thought when Jake first arrived, because fifteen minutes later, the comedown hit her like she imagined it would hit anyone who was re-experiencing their drug of choice four years after getting clean. And she was scared. “And if he does kill me, who will take care of my mom?” Her eyes were big and wet and she was shaking, listing off fears and dilemmas as Jake grabbed her a glass of water. “What if she doesn’t sell my clothes? Those clothes deserve to be worn!”

       “Gina, he’s not going to kill you. I promise.” Jake handed her the glass, which she gulped down. 

       “If he did, it would be a waste of a perfect person.” Gina took a breath and set down the glass a little too hard, wincing at the clank it made on the floor. She stood up and hopped onto the countertop. “I really miss Nana, Jake. I wanted to talk to her about all of this and instead she’s gone. Selfish bat.” Gina mumbled, staring at her hands.       

       Jake picked up the glass and put it in the sink. “She had a heart attack, I don’t think that counts as selfish.”

       “It does when it’s right before I needed her!” Gina threw her arms up in exasperation and then groaned. Her eyes were burning again.  _ Fuck it.  _ “I give up. Just,” She reached out for Jake and he took a step forward, eyes wide as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face deep into his shoulder. “This is only because of the drugs.” She protested as her back stiffened and then loosened with the shudder of a sob and she buried her face deeper into Jake’s shoulder. “I’m not supposed to cry over men.” She managed, her voice thick. 

       Jake sighed, wrapping his arms around her back and stepping in closer. “You can cry over whoever you want. Men aren’t supposed to treat people like shit.”  _ Please change your mind and let me kill Kaleb.  _

________________________________________

       Gina wasn’t hungry, but Jake forced her to eat some toast and while nothing sounded like the  _ right  _ activity to her, he managed to get her to settle on the couch, and she watched him stare absently at the television. “Why are we friends, Jake?” She asked after a long period of silence. 

       “I don’t know. We’ve always been friends.” He shrugged.

       “You’re a cop.” Gina took a bite of her unfinished toast. “And I’m a drug addict.” 

       “Okay.” Jake nodded. “But you’re also a super smart person, and we care about each other, and we both love comedy and movies. And, it’s not like the drug thing is something that you’re still hooked on. I’m not going to let you relapse because of this.” 

       Gina stared at him for a moment without saying anything. Finally, she raised a brow. “Are you gay?” 

       “Have you never seen a woman before? I’m not gay.” Jake paused. “But also, men are kind of…”

       “Delicious?”

       “Sometimes, yeah.”

       Gina laughed. “I wonder what Nana would have thought.

       “Nana was the gayest old lady on Earth.” Jake said. “If she’d ever married, it would have been to a woman.” 

       "Do you think that’s  _ why _ she never married? Homophobic old people at spin class or something?” 

       “I just think she preferred to be alone.” Jake shrugged. “Or with us. We made her really happy, I think.” Jake’s eyes were burning and he turned away. “Great, look what you did.” He wiped as his face and Gina watched him with a smile. 

       “We’re crybabies.” 

       “Yeah. but you’ve seen me cry before.  _ You  _ crying is like watching a cat take a bath-oof!” Gina chucked a pillow at Jake and he laughed breathlessly, chucking it back. 

       “You’ve seen me cry, you just don’t remember.” Gina countered, tucking the pillow between her legs. 

       Jake paused, racking his brain. He shook his head. 

       “Do you remember how we met?” Jake shook his head again and Gina smiled. “In kindergarten we had to introduce ourselves one-by-one and you said ‘Hi I’m Jake and bees can kill me.’” Jake’s eyes widened, but Gina kept going. “And I said, ‘I’m Gina and bees don’t do anything because they’re yellow.’” 

       “Sound logic.” Jake grinned. “Wait, was this the time-”

       Gina propped herself up against the armrest of the couch and reveled in Jake’s look of realization. “We were playing together at recess and a bee landed on your shoulder and you started screaming-”

       “And you grabbed it in your hand and it stung you. Oh my god, I’ve seen Gina Linetti cry twice!” The pillow hit Jake’s head that time. 

_________________________________________

       Gina slept a total of two fitful hours in Nana’s room before coming back out to where Jake lay asleep on the couch, and shook his shoulder until he startled awake. “Jake.” She whispered. “I can’t sleep.”

       “Yeah, drugs do that.” He grumbled, sitting up and pulling the blanket he’d been using up around his shoulders. The couch, which had been reclined, snapped upright and they both jumped. 

       “Can I lay with you?” Gina asked. Jake looked up at her and she rolled her eyes. “In the normal way.” 

       “Right, the normal way that adults of the opposite sex cuddle on a couch.” But he still motioned for her to join.

       She walked around the couch and Jake reclined again. Gina laid down flat across the couch, shorter enough than Jake to be able to do so, and put her head in his lap. “Just shut up and give me attention.” 

       When Gina woke again, withdrawals had eased their way to her attention the way an oncoming train eases its way into a man in the middle of the tracks. She felt empty and she was grateful that Jake was there. She couldn’t remember it being like this in the past, the jonesing for _more more more_ taking over like a hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing tighter the longer she went without a line. Coke was a binge drug, and she’d always done it like one. Even at her worst, she’d never felt she’d die without it. “Jake, you don’t understand.” She drawled, her nerves flaring and her hands tight, squeezing the air. “I _need_ it.”        

       “I know!” He threw his head back against the couch. “I don’t know how to help you. You’re not getting any coke.” Jake had pushed Gina off some time ago and they’d both reclined into their respective spots on the couch.

       “I don’t  _ want  _ it.” She tried to clarify, only earning a raised brow. “It just hurts. I’ve never felt like this after.” She groaned, running her hands down her face. 

       “Are you sure it was just coke?” Jake asked. “I mean, you never shot up before, right?” 

       “ _ Hell _ no, man. I didn’t want track marks.” She ran a gentle hand across her skin and closed her eyes, her head pressed against the back of the couch beside Jake’s. 

       “Maybe that’s just what it feels like after.” Jake shrugged. “I don’t know.” 

       Gina pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it tightly around herself, shivering as she did so. “This is bullshit.” She decided, sinking deeper into the blanket. “This does not fit at all with the perfection I’m clearly supposed to ooze.” 

       “I still don’t understand why you were at Kaleb’s in the first place.” Jake tossed her the blanket he was using so she could further cocoon herself. Outside, the sun was finally rising and warmth was starting to trickle into Nana’s apartment. 

       “ _ Damn  _ dude you are not a good puzzle solver. Don’t you want to be a detective one day or something?” Jake only glared at her and a commotion beneath the blankets piled all around Gina gave way to her throwing her hands up defensively. “I went to break things off, remember? But... He still didn’t know about the abortion.” She scrunched her nose. “He said I looked stressed out and that I should ‘relax.’” 

_        Oh.  _ “Men suck.” Jake frowned. 

       “They’re good for one thing.” Gina wiggled her eyebrows and made a spinning motion with her finger, earning a gag from Jake who promptly abandoned her for a glass of water. 

______________________________________

       After early Saturday morning was spent with Gina in a fit of complaints and exhaustion, they decided they’d better go apologize to Nana for using her house as a rehab den. She was a plot of unsettled dirt with a temporary marker, the gravestone having yet to arrive. Jake dropped some flowers atop the dark earth and Gina did the same. “Hey Nana.” Gina said, her voice tight and hair a mess. She wore a zip-up jacket, the hood pulled nearly over her eyes to block the glare of the sun, a pair of too-big sweats hanging at her waist. She was fairly certain they were Jake’s from high school. “It’s me.”

       “And me.” Jake added, his voice barely above a whisper. He was wearing a pair of aviators that mixed with his academy-required short hair to make him look like a military pilot. Gina couldn’t imagine Jake’s gentle heart in the military, and she worried sometimes what the NYPD would do to it. “Gina’s here to apologize for breaking into your house.”

       “Yeah, and Jake’s sorry for moving into it next month and making it manish and lame.” Gina added. 

       “Yeah, it’s gonna be a mess. I love you.” He added, his voice high with the charm of an apologetic child. 

       “I’m pretty mad at you for dying.” Gina sat down beside the plot and Jake sat on the other side. “I made a big fuckup and I could have used you.” 

       Jake’s lips were tight. He hated to admit it, but he was kind of mad at Nana, too. “I graduate from the academy next month. I was really hoping you’d be there.” Jake stared down at the grass in front of him and shrugged. “Dad said he’d make it but I’m not holding out hope.” 

       “Fuck your dad.” Gina spat, slow and deliberate, staring at Jake. “Nana would have said so, too.” 

       Jake’s left brow raised up over the top of his sunglasses. “I highly doubt she would have said that.” 

       “She would have said, ‘Fuck Roger, Jake. He’s a scumbag and I warned your mother from the start’, and then she would have made you help cook dinner.” Gina did her best impression of a crotchety old Jewish woman and Jake threw a handful of grass at her, grinning. 

       “You can’t curse at Nana’s grave that many times in a row.” Jake said, staring back at the plot. 

       “I learned from the best.” Gina smiled. “Anyway, Nana. I just…” Gina started ripping nervously at the grass and Jake watched her in silent awe.  _ Anxious?  _ “I’ve been thinking about how you kept all of my secrets when I was a dumb teenager and I want you to know that I didn’t go out with Kaleb because I’m weak for shitty men.” Although, that wasn’t necessarily true. “Joe didn’t turn me into some weird masochistic self-sabotager. And I’m pretty sure you’re haunting me so I know you know about the drugs and the b- the abortion, so I guess I’m just sorry I messed up.” She shrugged. “I haven’t forgotten what you taught me.” 

_        Who the hell is Joe?  _ Jake turned his attention from Gina back to where Nana lay. “I think we’re gonna go, Nana. We just wanted to let you know what was up, and uh, you should rest easy.” 

       “Yeah, you can stop haunting me. It’s killing my vibe and you’ve been taking care of me for long enough.” Gina patted the dirt and stood up, Jake following suit. 

__________________________________________________

       The bus was fairly empty for Saturday morning and Jake and Gina sat side by side, enjoying the peace. For about two seconds. “Who’s Joe?” Jake asked, earning a sigh from Gina, whose eyes were closed and head was back. 

       “My second kiss.” 

       “We weren’t friends with anyone named Joe.” Jake’s brows were furrowed. 

       “He was older.” 

       “How much older?” Jake played through all of the classmates he remembered from his younger years. 

       “My mom dated him when I was ten.” Gina opened her eyes to examine Jake’s face for a reaction. 

       It didn’t click at first. “What? Your mom dated a kid?” Jake’s face fell slack as realization struck him and Gina released him from the incredulous stare the question had warranted.

       And then his insides were on fire. “What did he do to you?” The words were acidic and Gina couldn’t help but smile. Jake had always been such a little hero. 

       “He kissed me.” Gina shrugged. “Like, full on macked. And then he was gone.” 

       “He just kissed you and disappeared?” 

       “Yep. I know it sounds stupid, but it really fucked me up.” Gina smirked. “Do you remember when I came over for your house for two weeks and just refused to leave?” 

       Jake’s stomach clenched and he closed his eyes with an exhale. “You were hiding. Jesus.”

       Gina stared straight ahead and Jake watched her. Then, with the apprehension of a man about to grab a rattlesnake, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple, his nose and eyes scrunching. When he pulled away, he was smiling and she was utterly confused. 

       “There.” He chimed, satisfied. 

       “Why?” Gina threw her hands up, squinting at Jake, who only continued to smile. 

       “A good kiss for your kiss inventory.” Jake said. “To drown out the bad ones.” 

       Gina stared at him the entire rest of the way to his house.


	2. Being in love is stupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Gina try to make it work... For like a month.

     It started out of lust, and, to be honest, loneliness.

 

     Jake was heavier than he looked. He was lean as he’d always been (except in seventh grade before that growth spurt), but it was muscle now, thanks to the police academy, and his chest was hard against Gina’s. He tasted like licorice and toothpaste, and she groaned against the nip of his teeth on her bottom lip. He pressed her harder into the couch and she welcomed the weight. 

 

     This hadn’t been the plan when he’d told her what he was thinking- that he’d wondered about them.  _ “You know, as a thing. A sexy thing- or no-”  _ he’d stuttered,  _ “I’m not saying I just want that. I mean, I want some of that, but I mean you as… more?”  _

 

_      “Damn, you  _ suck  _ at talking right now. Just kiss me and see how it goes.”   _

 

     And so he had. He’d pushed her down onto his mother’s couch and hovered inches above her, kissing her tentatively until Gina made it clear that she liked it a little rougher than that. So there they were. 

 

     “Are you-” He kissed her. “Are you sure?”

 

     “Not at all.” She breathed. “Are you?” She ran a hand down his chest towards his belt and gasped.  _ Where’s the pudge? _

 

     “Nope. Wanna stop?” He pulled away just long enough to tug his T-shirt over his head, then pressed his bare chest against hers, his teeth grazing her jaw. 

 

     “Nope.” She tugged on the back of his neck. “Why are you so fit?” 

 

     “Academy.” He mumbled into her neck, breathing a grin as she ran a hand down his chest again. 

 

     “Are all cops this hot?”

 

     Jake pulled away, a shit-eating grin on his face. “You think I’m hot?” 

 

     Gina stared, exasperated, and motioned to his body. “If you were a popsicle-”

 

     “Jesus Christ.” He kissed her again. 

 

__________________________________

 

     Three weeks passed with casual sex and late-night movie binges. The playful banter they’d maintained since childhood continued to stick around, and they both waited in agitation to fall in love with each other. Gina, who was still a little convinced sparks were supposed to fly, continued to be unenthralled with the warmth in her stomach that Jake’s kisses brought, but was more than satisfied with the sex. He was kind to her, and  _ holy shit _ , he actually took the time to make her finish. He even cuddled with her after, never mind that he was the little spoon. 

 

     Jake just wanted to look at her and not see anything of equal relevance anywhere else in the world. He would stare at her and love her as he always had, ever since he was a child, but then he would think,  _ I wouldn’t run away with her. She deserves somebody that would run away with her.  _ It occurred to him that the love he felt wasn’t the type of love that lived in a white picket fence with crazy kids and a fat dog; it was just the type of love that built up with proximity and time. 

 

_      Maybe I just need to wait,  _ they both thought. 

 

     So they waited. And fucked. And laughed together. They waited until Gina’s bruises were gone and Jake was officially a cop. They waited until Kaleb got himself arrested for drug possession. And then they stopped waiting. They were playing video games in Nana’s old apartment, which Jake had already successfully turned into a disaster. “So, I’ve been thinking about…” Jake trailed off, focusing on the game, watching himself die by Gina’s hand, which at this point in their lives was to be expected. “Do you love me?”   
  


     Gina shrugged, killing him again. “Duh. I’ve always loved you.”

 

     “No.” Jake shook his head. “Are you in love with me? It’s been three months-”

 

     “Are you in love with me?” Gina asked, pausing the game and looking at him. 

 

     “Will you be angry if I say no?” Jake stared down at her. 

 

     She shook her head. 

 

     “Then, no.” 

 

     “Me neither. I really want to be.” She confessed, leaning against the back of the couch. 

 

     “Right?” Jake threw his hands up. “Everything would be so much easier.”

 

     “We’d never have to be single again.” Gina smirked. 

 

     “God, yeah! No awkward dating. And the sex is good. You’re  _ good  _ at sex.” Jake nodded. 

 

     “I know, man. God, you’re so lucky.” Gina sighed. “Why aren’t we in love?”   
  


     “We’re just not, I guess.” Jake shrugged.  

     They fucked one last time, because it was fun and because they knew after that they wouldn’t be able to look back. The next morning, Jake went to work and Gina met him there in the afternoon, with her hair in a bun and a duffel bag on her back. “I’m gonna go to Italy.” She said. “I wanna bang an Italian guy and get fat eating crepes.” 

 

     “I’m pretty sure crepes are in France.” Jake frowned, his chest tightening.  _ How is she going to survive? Is she going to get kidnapped by European mobsters? Oh my God, am I gonna get to save Gina from European mobsters?  _ “But I mean, wherever. Wait, don’t you hate Europe?” 

 

     “Well then I’m going to Paris. And yes, I think it’s full of assholes with nice shopping malls and old buildings. But, I was thinking this morning. Maybe we’re not in love because we’re not opposite enough? I think my opposite is some asshole in Europe. Maybe your opposite is a…” Gina shrugged. “A neat freak with like  _ perfect  _ attendance.” 

 

     Jake scrunched his nose. “Ew.” 

 

     Gina smirked and stepped up to kiss Jake’s cheek, wrapping her arms around him and placing her head on his chest, his badge, which was clipped to his shirt, pressing against her face. “A good kiss for your kiss inventory, loser.” 

 

     “Don’t let anyone mess with you, okay?” Jake said, squeezing her against him. “Don’t let anyone fuck with Gina Linetti.” 

 

     “Okay.” She whispered. “But I will be letting people  _ fuck- _ ”

 

     “Okay!” Jake shoved her off, turning her towards the door. “Have fun in Europe, come back in one piece, get laid, meet your husband or wife or whatever.” He grinned, waving her away. 

 

     Gina grinned back and Jake watched as she stepped up to the curb. “Taxi!” She yelled, pulling open the door of the first one to stop. “Take me to the airport, I need to bang a European guy. No-” She groaned, climbing in. “Not you! A different one. Let’s go.” She slammed the door and waved to Jake, who was already turning back towards the precinct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for this series! To everyone who has read, commented, critiqued, and left Kudos, thank you! Writing these little pieces was a blast and I'm so happy I got to share with interested readers. If you haven't checked out The Snags, it's a sequel series to this one and I would love some reviews there! Have a great day (or night, or early morning. You know how it is.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading the first half and I'm sorry it took me SO long to publish! School recently started back up and life is crazy busy, but I haven't forgotten about my work and the second and final chapter of this piece is in the process of being written, I promise! For now, I'm going to do something I almost never do, and publish a lone chapter to hold over anyone who might be waiting. Again, thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> P.S.- See something wrong or something you didn't like? Let me know what and why? See something you did like? Let me know the same! Your feedback helps me grow as a writer and I really appreciate it.


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